PAN graphs An aid to GIS analysis

Abstract

Many data structures are possible for the storage of topological information for computer-based maps. The PAN graph is here suggested as an aid in the selection of a strategy appropriate to the application. Examples are given for the mapping of triangular networks and Thiessen polygons. Application of the technique is appropriate to both education in, and design of, spatial data structures for automated cartography and geographical information systems     

Data structures for three-dimensional spatial information systems in geology

Abstract

The accumulation of geological information in digital form, due to modern exploration methods, has introduced the possibility of applying geographical information system technology to the field of geology. To achieve the benefits in information management and in data analysis and interpretation, however, it will be necessary to develop spatial models and associated data structures which are specifically designed for working in three dimensions. Some progress in this direction has already been demonstrated, with the application of octree spatial subdivision techniques to the storage of uniform volume elements representing mineral properties. By imposing octree tessellations on more precisely-defined geometric data, such as triangulated surfaces and polygon line segments, it may now be possible to combine efficient spatial addressing with topologically-coded boundary representations of geological strata. The development of storage schemes capable of representing such geological boundary models at different scales poses a particular problem, a possible solution to which may be by means of hierarchical classification of the vertices of triangulated surfaces according to shape contribution.     

Evolution and sedimentology of a channel fill in the sandy braided South Saskatchewan River and its comparison to the deposits of an adjacent compound bar

The depositional stratigraphy of within‐channel deposits in sandy braided rivers is dominated by a variety of barforms (both singular ‘unit’ bars and complex ‘compound’ bars), as well as the infill of individual channels (herein termed ‘channel fills’). The deposits of bars and channel fills define the key components of facies models for braided rivers and their within‐channel heterogeneity, knowledge of which is important for reservoir characterization. However, few studies have sought to address the question of whether the deposits of bars and channel fills can be readily differentiated from each other. This paper presents the first quantitative study to achieve this aim, using aerial images of an evolving modern sandy braided river and geophysical imaging of its subsurface deposits. Aerial photographs taken between 2000 and 2004 document the abandonment and fill of a 1·3 km long, 80 m wide anabranch channel in the sandy braided South Saskatchewan River, Canada. Upstream river regulation traps the majority of very fine sediment and there is little clay (< 1%) in the bed sediments. Channel abandonment was initiated by a series of unit bars that stalled and progressively blocked the anabranch entrance, together with dune deposition and stacking at the anabranch entrance and exit. Complete channel abandonment and subsequent fill of up to 3 m of sediment took approximately two years. Thirteen kilometres of ground‐penetrating radar surveys, coupled with 18 cores, were obtained over the channel fill and an adjacent 750 m long, 400 m wide, compound bar, enabling a quantitative analysis of the channel and bar deposits. Results show that, in terms of grain‐size trends, facies proportions and scale of deposits, there are only subtle differences between the channel fill and bar deposits which, therefore, renders them indistinguishable. Thus, it may be inappropriate to assign different geometric and sedimentological attributes to channel fill and bar facies in object‐based models of sandy braided river alluvial architecture.     

Evolution of Bishop Tuff Rhyolitic Magma Based on Melt and Magnetite Inclusions and Zoned Phenocrysts

The evolution of large bodies of silicic magma is an importantaspect of planetary differentiation. Melt and mineral inclusionsin phenocrysts and zoned phenocrysts can help reveal the processesof differentiation such as magma mixing and crystal settling,because they record a history of changing environmental conditions.Similar major element compositions and unusually low concentrationsof compatible elements (e.g. 0·45–4·6 ppmBa) in early-erupted melt inclusions, matrix glasses and bulkpumice from the Bishop Tuff, California, USA, suggest eutectoidfractional crystallization. On the other hand, late-eruptedsanidine phenocrysts have rims rich in Ba, and late-eruptedquartz phenocrysts have CO₂-rich melt inclusions closest tocrystal rims. Both features are the reverse of in situ crystallizationdifferentiation, and they might be explained by magma mixingor crystal sinking. Log(Ba/Rb) correlates linearly with log(Sr/Rb)in melt inclusions, and this is inconsistent with magma mixing.Melt inclusion gas-saturation pressure increases with CO₂ fromphenocryst core to rim and suggests crystal sinking. Some inclusionsof magnetite in late-erupted quartz are similar to early-eruptedmagnetite phenocrysts, and this too is consistent with crystalsinking. We argue that some large phenocrysts of late-eruptedquartz and sanidine continued to crystallize as they sank severalkilometers through progressively less differentiated melts.Probable diffusive modification of Sr in sanidine phenocrystsand the duration of crystal sinking are consistent with an evolutionaryinterval of some 100 ky or more. Crystal sinking enhanced thedegree of differentiation of the early-erupted magma and pointsto the importance of H₂O (to diminish viscosity and enhancethe rate of crystal sinking) in the evolution of silicic magmas. KEY WORDS: crystal settling; differentiation; melt inclusions; rhyolite; trace elements     

Stable isotope study of carbonate sediments from the Coorong Area, South Australia

ABSTRACT
The mineralogy and isotope geochemistry of carbonate minerals in the Coorong area are determined by the water chemistry of different depositional environments ranging from seawater to evaporitically modified continental water. The different isotopic compositions of coexisting calcite and dolomite suggest that each of the above two minerals was formed from water of composition and origin unique to that specific mineral. In addition, the dolomite was not formed by simple solid state cation exchange.
The occurrence of two types of dolomite was shown by isotope analysis and SEM observations. The dolomite, which is isotopically light (δ¹³C = -1 to -2% 0 ; δ¹⁸O=+3 to +5%₀) and of fine grain size (˜ 0·5 μm) probably precipitated under the influence of evaporitically modified continental water. Coarser grained dolomite (up to 4 μm) is isotopically heavier (δ¹³C=+3 to +4%₀; δ¹⁸O=+5 to + 6%₀) contains Mg in excess of Ca and was formed in or close to equilibrium with atmospheric CO² probably by the dolomitization of aragonite.     

Holocene reef sequences and geochemistry, Britomart Reef, central Great Barrier Reef, Australia

Holocene reef development was investigated by coring on Britomart Reef, a mid-shelf reef, 23 km long and 8 km wide situated 120 km north of Townsville in the central Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Two holes were drilled, Britomart 1 on a lagoon patch reef, and Britomart 2 on the windward reef crest. The Holocene reef (25·5 m) is the thickest yet recorded in the GBR and overlies an uneven substrate of weathered Pleistocene limestone. Mineralogical and geochemical analyses show that magnesian calcite and aragonite were converted to low Mg-calcite below the Holocene-Pleistocene disconformity. Corals above the interface have 7500–8500 ppm Sr, but 1650–1500 ppm just below it, decreasing to 400–800 ppm downwards. The intermediate Sr values could be due to partial replacement of aragonite by calcite or higher original Sr content in the corals. Three units are recognized in the Holocene: (1) coral boundstone unit, (2) coral framestone unit, and (3) coral rudstone unit. The coral boundstone unit forms the top 5 m of both cores and is algal-bound coral rubble similar to the present reef top. The coral framestone unit is composed of massive head corals Diploastrea heliopora and Porites sp., and is currently forming in patch reefs situated in the lagoon and along the reef front. The coral rudstone unit comprises coral rudstone and floatstone with unabraded, and unbound, coral clasts in muddy matrix. This matrix may be up to 30% sponge chips. Radiocarbon dating indicates the reef grew more rapidly under the lagoon than under the reef front from 7000 to 5000 yr BP. The rate of reef growth matched existing estimates of sea-level rise, but lagged approximately 1000 years (5–10 m) behind it. Most of the reef mass accumulated between 8500 and 5000 yr BP as a mound of debris, perhaps stabilized by seagrasses or algae. Accretion of the reef top in a windward direction between 5000 and 3000 yr BP created the present, steep reef-front profile.     

Petrology of the Partridge River Intrusion, Duluth

Drill core DDH-221 was drilled for the Minnamax Project by AMAX Exploration, Inc., as part of the exploration for Cu-Ni sulfidesin the basal rocks of the northwestern margin of the DuluthComplex. The drill core intersects 525 m of the Partridge RiverIntrusion before passing into the Virginia Formation footwall.The rocks in the drill core comprise plagioclase and olivinecumulates, with troctolite and olivine gabbro as the most commonrock types. Sulfide- and oxide-bearing gabbros are present inthe lowest 100 m of the core where decreases in the crystalsizes of plagioclase and olivine, and the appearance of ophitictextures adjacent to the footwall, indicate that the chilledmargin of the intrusion has been preserved (Chalokwu & Grant,1990). The concentrations of incompatible elements in the wholerocks and the iron contents of olivine and pyroxenes all increasesharply in the lowest 100 m of the drill core (Chalokwu &Grant, 1990), and are interpreted as the downward increase inintercumulus liquid now preserved as intercumulus phases, andthe reaction of this liquid with olivine and pyroxenes. Mass, balance calculations for rocks containing widely differentvolumes of intercumulus phases show that the intercumulus liquidwas a chemically uniform ferrodiorite that can be derived fromKeweenawan high-alumina olivine tholeiite by plagioclase (An₆₃),clinopyroxene (En₅₀Fs₁₀Wo₄₀), and olivine (Fo₇₁) fractionation. Initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values for plagioclase range between 0–704764and O-706335, with the highest values occurring adjacent tothe footwall Virginia Formation, and the lowest at intermediatedepths in the core. These variations are similar to ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Srvalues reported earlier by Grant & Moiling (1981) From theadjacent core DDH-295, although the values are all greater thanpublished initial ratios for the least altered Keweenawan lavas.We attribute the isotopic variations in core DDH-221 to isotopicheterogeneities in the Partridge River Intrusion magmas, andto limited assimilation of the Virginia Formation within 50m of the footwall. Rare-earth and other trace elements in the intercumulus liquidfrom core DDH-221 have similar distributions to the same elementsin Keweenawan basic to intermediate lavas. We conclude that the rocks of the Partridge River Intrusionsampled in drill core DDH-221 comprise a mechanical mixtureof cumulus plagioclase and olivine and intercumulus liquid thatwere not in equilibrium with each other, and that the intercumulusliquid was broadly consanguineous with Keweenawan high-aluminaolivine tholeiite lavas, but was modified to a greater extentby assimilative exchange with continental crust. After emplacement,the crystal-liquid mixture was modified by flotation of thecumulus plagioclase out of the basal zone, and by limited —but not ubiquitous — assimilation of footwall VirginiaFormation.